making sense of loose coffeeshop talk, political analyses and comments

How should we judge a government?

In Malaysia, if you don't watch television or read newspapers, you are uninformed; but if you do, you are misinformed!

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." - Malcolm X

Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience - Mark Twain

Why we should be against censorship in a court of law: Publicity is the very soul of justice … it keeps the judge himself, while trying, under trial. - Jeremy Bentham

"Our government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no

responsibility at the other. " - Ronald Reagan

Government fed by the people

Career options

I suggest government... because nobody has ever been caught.

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?

Corruption is so prevalent it affects English language?

When there's too much dirt...

We need better tools... to cover up mega corruptions.

Prevent bullying now!

If you're not going to speak up, how is the world supposed to know you exist? “Orang boleh pandai setinggi langit, tapi selama ia tidak menulis, ia akan hilang di dalam masyarakat dan dari sejarah.” - Ananta Prameodya Toer (Your intellect may soar to the sky but if you do not write, you will be lost from society and to history.)

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Chinese education: government's hypocrisy

Education is very important to any individual, but because the decision is normally made by parents, how they decide can well shape his or her future and destiny.

My parents had no formal education but somehow my father, the decision-maker, decided that all sons should study in an English-medium school and all daughters in a Chinese-medium school. The most obvious effect of siblings who were taught in different languages, was the frequent quarrels over whether to listen to the English or Chinese section of Rediffusion!

Today, it is common to notice students speaking mainly Mandarin (if from a Chinese school), Tamil (if from a Tamil school), Bahasa Malaysia (if from a national school), and English (if from a private or International school), with some variations and exceptions. Those who speak English are likely to have parents who speak English at home, regardless of race or type of school, and so on. The choice of TV channels are likely to be based on their preferred language, almost to the exclusion of others. With Astro and DVDs, some ignored national channels totally, including the news.

The problem with national schools is the deterioration of standards because of nationalistic aspirations, inept ministers' frequently changing policies, biased civil servants in the ministry, poorly trained teachers, and so on. Among non-Malays, one of the reasons for not choosing national school is the Islamization and overzealous teachers who do not respect other religions. Even Muslims themselves face problems created by some of their colleagues.

Basically, I believe in the freedom of choice, initially by the parents and later, by the students. But, the decision would depend on the availability of sufficient choices to suit the needs of the people, the market and the country. Ultimately, it would depend on whether the parents can afford according to student's choice. It would have been easier if we cater according to the demands of the market, but politics, race and religion would, as we have witnessed, complicate matters.

As is typical of BN leaders, what they say is different from the actual policy or how each policy is being carried out. We know of justice, equality, freedom of speech and so on, but we also know we do not get them. While we have racialist parties like Umno, MCA and MIC to look after their racial interests, we also know Umno makes all the important decisions and MCA and MIC exist in name only, to reflect some semblance of multi-racialism in the ruling coalition.

To the ordinary folks, despite having MCA to look after Chinese interests, why are the Chinese schools decreasing in numbers? Logically, with increasing population and increasing demand (even from non-Chinese), Chinese schools should be increasing in numbers instead of decreasing.

Dr. Kua Kia Soong has the statistics and explanation in his letter published in Malaysiakini:

For
the uninitiated, at Independence we had 1350 Chinese primary schools,
more than 800 Tamil primary schools and 78 Chinese secondary schools.

Today,
with our population doubled, there are only 1285 Chinese primary
schools, 550 or so Tamil primary schools and 60 Malaysian Independent
Chinese Secondary Schools (MICSS).

In
fact when the Education Act 1961 was legislated, the number of
Chinese secondary schools shrunk to just 14 because the rest had to
give up their mother tongue education system since they could not
survive without government aid. From the Seventies, the number of
MICSS grew steadily to sixty.The
most obvious question Malaysians might want to ask is, how did the
education policy and Education Act 1961 allow the number of MICSS to
grow to sixty between 1961 to 1980?

The
next obvious question to ask is: how did the policy and the law
suddenly insist that there cannot be one more MICSS once the sixtieth
school had been built by the end of the Seventies?

Before
the 1996 Education Act, the mother tongue lobby had protested against
Section 21(2) of the 1961 Act which stipulated that the Minister of
Education "may at any suitable time convert all national-type
primary schools to national primary schools."

When
the 1996 Education Act came in, as expected, Section 21(2) of the
previous law was no longer there. However, under section 17.11 of the
new law, all schools in the National Education System had to use
Bahasa Malaysia as the main medium of instruction. (Note that under
the 1961 Act, only primary schools were affected.)...

Double
standards over English-language schoolsThe
recent proliferation of international schools in this country and
their liberal enrolment of rich Malaysian students also make a
mockery of the government's claim to implement a National Education
Policy (specifying Malay as the main medium of instruction) for all
Malaysians.Why
does the English-language have priority over the mother tongue of
Malaysians?If
the government can allow hundreds of institutions in the country to
use the English language, what is the problem with allowing one more
MICSS school in which BM and English are compulsory subjects?

The
contributions of MICSS to national developmentThe
60 MICSS have been surviving all these years through the support of
the community which subsidizes their tuition fees. Although the
Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) is recognised round the world,
our own government still refuses to recognise it.Despite
being treated like step children, graduates from the MICSS have been
contributing to Malaysia's development and growth. The inventor of
the thumb-drive is a product of the MICSS and he has since come back
to invest in this country.The
Chinese community has been paying double taxation while also
nurturing these 60 schools since they have been forced to be
self-financing."

I have selected a few short quotes on the importance of education by famous personalities:

AristotleThe
roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.

Benjamin
FranklinGenius without education is like silver in the mine.

Helen
KellerThe highest result of education is tolerance.

Victor
HugoHe who opens a school door, closes a prison.

Nelson
MandelaEducation is the most powerful weapon which you can
use to change the world.

No comments:

Shouldn't every Malaysian abide by this universal principle?

It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree which he himself stands by the country.

It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country.

It is unpatriotic to support him to the extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country.

In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about him or anyone else.

- Theodore Roosevelt

Best prosecutor money can buy

Apparently he was paid only Rm1000! But it has been alleged he was paid privately by Najib a total sum of Rm9.5 millions! Shouldn't we be concerned about his money trails since? Now with new revelation, allegation that it could have been used to influence Anwar's Sodomy 2 trial cannot be easily dispelled or discounted. The unusual appointment of an Umno lawyer as lead prosecutor, which resulted in reversals of High Court's verdict in Anwar's favour, adds to the suspicion.

In case you didn't notice

"Do not be confused, the account is in my name, but it is not like a personal account," - Najib Tun Razak said in a TV3 interview on 1MDB.

Latest: "I took money for us to spend."

It became clear when the timing coincided with GE13. So was it a bought victory?

Now friends with a common enemy.

Forgiven but not forgotten.

legality

Are we in this situation now?

The only way BN can keep him away

Jailed again for sodomy... not political conspiracy?

We share her grief for the second time...

“I never thought I would go through this ordeal again”.

I came and there was no record...

I was blown up and there were 2 killers but no motive!

Umno wins 88 seats (from 79) at the expense of other coalition partners

Malaysia Boleh Perception Dictionary

Amman, Jordan

Kuala Lumpur

kosongcafe

LAW OF COFFEE: As soon as you sit down for a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Acronym

I have to live with my acronym, Kosong (Malay for Zero). Had I started with just 1 before accumulating the 0, I would have been a millionaire!

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Followers

Batu Gajah KTMB Station

A Monument of Development at the expense of Convenience a.k.a. White Elephant (for the first few years when it was built before service commenced. Since then, the train service proves to be convenient. So users have no choice but to use it despite its inconvenient location. That's why KTM can ignore our request for a stop at the old station.

A reminder of my Petition

Symbolic of residents' appeal and KTMB's 'Kami Tidak Mahu Balas'. Note KTM responded on Jan 5, 2010 - awaiting a study on the suggestion. This notice shall remain until something is done. 7th Anniversary of No Action yet. Arrogance of a monopolistic entity?

Link List

“Always tell the truth. That way, you don't have to remember what you said.” - Mark Twain

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

Wisdom of a Retiree

WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES; it takes away today's PEACE. I've reached the age where the happy hour is a nap.

My Ong Badge...

Needs a Mansion to match

Wang

The Chinese character for king - 王- reveals a great deal about the nature of rulership: the three horizontal strokes represent heaven, humanity and earth, while the vertical stroke which holds the celestial, existential and terrestrial realms together and apart symbolizes the upright, honorable and noble qualities required to maintain balance and harmony on all levels. - Antares

Contributors

Be simple... it is not easy!

It’s easy to let your thoughts and worries complicate your life. But it takes great strength to be simple. - Monica Kupfer.

Politically correct, quotable quotes

"I am only one, But still I am one.I cannot do everything, But still I can do something;And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." - Edward Everett Hale

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing - Edmund Burke

Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. - Mahatma Gandhi

You must be the change you want to see in the world. - Mahatma Gandhi

Think before you whine

Each day,before you say an unkind word - think of someone who can't speak;

before you complain about the taste of your food - think of someone who has nothing to eat;

before you complain about your husband or wife - think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion;

before whining about the distance you drive - think of someone who walks the same distance by foot;

and when you are tired and complain about your job - think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job;

before you complain about life - think of someone who went too early to heaven;

and when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - put a smile on your face and think: I'm glad I'm still alive and can move around!

Advice on relationships:

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment" Benjamin Franklin

Sometimes, it is better to be kind than to be right.

Don’t let someone become a priority in your life, when you are just an option in his or her life.

Always be yourself because the people who matter don't mind, and the ones who mind, don't matter.

A true friend is someone who says nice things behind your back.

Forget about the people in your past...They didn't make it to your future for a reason.

To the world you may be just one person; but to one person you may be the world.

Cause of problems with Mother-in-law:

Every mother hopes that her daughter will marry a better man than she did, and is convinced that her son will never find a wife as good as his father did!

Acknowledgement

Contents were from various sources, and some originals had been edited. My blog serves to inform and hopefully, entertain as well. Please consider it an honour if any of your materials had been used and that it was interesting enough to be shared, for which I am thankful. I apologize if there is unintended infringement of any copyright and would readily remove any materials upon request.